This novel starts April 25, 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station which supplies the eastern Ukraine with one quarter of its electrical energy. While the characters are fiction, actual Soviet persons are referred to in the book. Dedicated to the people who kept a terrible accident from becoming far more terrible.

„Człowiek Plus”, książka opublikowana po raz pierwszy w ojczyźnie autora w roku 1976, w rok później doczekała się nagrody Nebula. W ironiczny, interesujący sposób przedstawia w niej Pohl wizję tragicznie przeludnionego świata po roku 2000. W podzielonym jak dziś politycznie świecie odbywa się wyścig do skolonizowania Marsa, co ma być receptą na przeludnienie.Śledzimy więc frenetyczne wysiłki Amerykanów, którzy szykują się do eksperymentu: astronauta Roger Torraway, spreparowany przez lekarzy i cybernetyków, ma jako cyborg wylądować na Marsie. Ten eksperyment służy Pohlowi do rozważań nad osobistą tragedią człowieka, który ma odegrać tę pionierską rolę.Kiedy Amerykanie odnoszą sukces umieszczając Rogera Torrowaya na Marsie, okazuje się, że przez cały czas byli igraszką w rękach… komputerów.

Das BuchGateway: Ein Asteroid, der in einem exzentrischen Orbit um die Sonne entdeckt wird. Von außen ein verkohlter Materieklumpen, von innen das Tor zum Universum. Denn Gateway ist die Hinterlassenschaft der Hitschi, einer geheimnisvollen außerirdischen Zivilisation, die offenbar vor langer Zeit ausgestorben ist. Der Asteroid diente ihr als Weltraumbahnhof, er ist gespickt mit zahllosen Raumschiffen, die darauf programmiert sind, mit Überlichtgeschwindigkeit in die entferntesten Winkel des Universums zu fliegen. Das Ganze hat nur einen Haken: Die Reisenden wissen nicht, wo ihre Reise endet. Als sich die ersten Piloten von der Erde auf den Weg machen, beginnt das größte Abenteuer in der Geschichte der Menschheit.Ausgezeichnet mit dem Hugo Gernsback, dem Nebula und dem Locus Award, gilt Frederik Pohls »Gateway-Trilogie« heute nicht nur als Meilenstein der Science Fiction, sondern ist auch eines der beliebtesten SF-Bücher überhaupt.»Eine zutiefst menschliche Geschichte vor dem Hintergrund der unendlichen Wunder und der rätselhaften Schönheit unseres Kosmos. Pohl hat der Science Fiction damit einen neuen Weg gewiesen.«Ben BovaDer AutorFrederik Pohl zählt – neben Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein und Ray Bradbury – zu den legendären Gründervätern der amerikanischen Science Fiction. Geboren 1919 in New York, gehörte er zu den SF-Herausgebern der ersten Stunde und machte schnell auch mit eigenen Storys und Romanen von sich reden, darunter »Mensch+« und »Eine Handvoll Venus« (mit Cyril M. Kornbluth). Der Roman »Gateway«, Mitte der 70er Jahre erschienen, und die Fortsetzungsbände »Jenseits des blauen Horizonts« und »Rückkehr nach Gateway« gelten als sein bedeutendstes Werk. Pohl lebt mit seiner Familie in Illinois.Titel der amerikanischen Originalausgaben:GATEWAYBEYOND THE BLUE EVENT HORIZONHEECHEE RENDEZVOUSCopyright © 1976, 1980, 1984 by Frederik PohlDeutsche Übersetzung von Tony Westermayr und Edda Petri, neu durchgesehen und überarbeitet von Rainer Michael Rahn Deutsche Übersetzung des Vorworts von Alexander Martin

Dopo un lungo periodo d’inattività letteraria, in cui si era limitato alla direzione di collane come «If» e «Galaxy», una decina d’anni fa Fred Pohl riprendeva a scrivere, sbalordendo tutti con opere stupende come La porta dell’infinito e Uomo più, e dimostrando una capacità di rinnovamento incredibile in un autore che aveva alle spalle una carriera tanto lunga e luminosa. Soltanto questo Pohl, il Pohl della seconda giovinezza, avrebbe potuto scrivere un romanzo breve come questo: scritto in uno stile vagamente ispirato al compianto Cordwainer Smith, in un futuro al tempo stesso assurdo e affascinante, dove navi grandi come isole traggono succo e minerali dai mari della Terra e dove si snoda bella e avvincente la vicenda romantica di un uomo che cerca di proteggere se stesso e una dolce fanciulla da un fato iniquo e dalle minacce di un morto.

Als 1953 Pohls Roman EINE HANDVOLL VENUS UND EHRBARE KAUFLEUTE erschien, wurde dies als eine kleine Sensation betrachtet. Noch nie hatte sich bisher ein Roman so pointiert und witzig mit der aktuellen politischen Situation auseinandergesetzt und den Kapitalismus aufs Korn genommen. EHRBARE KAUFLEUTE UND EIN KLEINER KRIEG AUF DER VENUS ist die Fortsetzung dieses satirischen Meisterwerks, ein Buch, auf das die SF-Leser lange gewartet haben und das schon jetzt, kurz nach seinem Erscheinen, in den USA ein Bestseller zu werden verspricht.Originaltitel: The Merchant's War© Copyright 1984 by Frederik PohlIns Deutsche übertragen von K.-U. Burgdorf

Werbung im 21. JahrhundertIndustriekämpfe, die bis aufs Messer geführt werden, sind an der Tagesordnung. Gigantische Werbeagenturen beherrschen die übervölkerte Erde des 21. Jahrhunderts und haben die bisherigen politischen Organisationen zur Bedeutungslosigkeit degradiert. Mit Ausnahme einiger weniger Menschen besteht die Weltbevölkerung nur noch aus willenlosen, durch Drogen und Werbetricks konditionierten Verbrauchern.In dieser Alptraumwelt liegen die beiden führenden Werbegiganten im Streit um ein großangelegtes Schwindelprojekt:Die Besiedlung des unbewohnbaren Planeten Venus.Über die Autoren:FREDERIK POHL, am 26. 11. 1919 in New York geboren, war schon in den dreißiger Jahren Mitglied der „Futurian Literary Society", einer Organisation junger SF-Autoren. Nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg, an dem er in Europa teilnahm, war der Autor zunächst in der Werbebranche als literarischer Agent und als Kriminalschriftsteller tätig. Ab 1949 wandte er sich jedoch wieder ausschließlich der SF-Literatur zu. Der Autor lebt heute mit seiner Familie in New Jersey.CYRIL M. KORNBLUTH diente während des Zweiten Weltkriegs ebenfalls in der US-Armee und wurde anschließend Chef einer Nachrichtenagentur. Ab 1951 arbeitete er als freier Schriftsteller.Die ersten gemeinsamen Arbeiten von Frederik Pohl und C. M. Kornbluth datieren bereits aus dem Jahr 1940. Ihre gemeinsamen Veröffentlichungen, die heute zu den beliebtesten SF-Classics gehören, wurden bis zum Tode Kornbluths im Jahre 1958 fortgesetzt.Titel der amerikanischen Originalausgabe THE SPACE MERCHANTSCopyright © 1953 by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth

Sono gli Hakh’hli. Sono alieni. Si nutrono di carne umana. Il lungo viaggio nello spazio era alla fine. Sandy, l’umano cresciuto su un’astronave degli extraterrestri Hakh’hli, era pronto al ritorno sulla Terra. Gli alieni erano animati dalle migliori intenzioni.. Solo la scienza Hakh’hli poteva risolvere il problema di trasformare i pianeti. I terrestri avevano bisogno di quel contatto. Ma c’era da fidarsi?

The discovery of another habitable world might spell salvation to the three bitterly competing power blocs of the resource-starved 21st century; but when their representatives arrive on Jem, with its multiple intelligent species, they discover instead the perfect situation into which to export their rivalries.Nominated for Nebula Award in 1979, Hugo and Locus awards in 1980

Quando viene arrestato dall’FBI con l’accusa di aver spiato un segretissimo laboratorio di ricerca, Dominic DeSota è sbalordito, perché lui in realtà in quel luogo non c’è mai stato. Ma quando gli vengono mostrate fotografie e impronte digitali che provano inconfutabilmente il suo crimine, la vicenda si trasforma in un incubo. Il fatto è inspiegabile, a meno che non si voglia credere alla più pazzesca delle ipotesi, e cioè che esista un altro Dominic DeSota, proveniente da... un mondo parallelo. Ma il problema è che ci sono tanti Dominic DeSota quante le infinite versioni di storia contenute nell’universo, e in una di queste qualcuno ha scoperto il segreto del paratempo, e con esso la possibilità di viaggiare tranquillamente da una dimensione parallela all’altra. Tuttavia, lo sfruttamento indiscriminato del paratempo non può sfuggire alla più semplice legge di compenetrazione, e infatti ogni trasferimento fra diverse linee temporali sta per raggiungere il punto critico, in un crescendo di situazioni bizzarre e affascinanti, dove la Casa Bianca sta addirittura per essere attaccata... dall’esercito degli Stati Uniti di una dimensione parallela. E allora qualcuno dovrà a tutti i costi escogitare una soluzione per evitare che l’intero universo precipiti nel caos.Con questo nuovo romanzo, Frederik Pohl conferma la sua inesauribile vena, e si lancia in un’emozionante avventura sul tema degli universi paralleli, piena di verve e di ironia.

Ill luck made Roger Torraway the subject of the Man Plus Programe, but it was deliberate biological engineering which turned him into a monster — a machine perfectly adapted to survive on Mars. For according to computer predictions, Mars is humankind's only alternative to extinction. But beneath his monstrous exterior, Torraway still carries a man's capacity for suffering. Won Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1976.Nominated for Hugo, Locus, and Campbell awards in 1977.

Evesham Givt was making a living by freelancing for Earth corporations (and diverting a portion of the corporate funds into his pockets) when he learned of the colony world of Tupelo, settled by five different alien species, where he and his girlfriend Rina could get a new start. When he and Rina arrived on Tupelo, and he almost immediately was elected mayor of the human colonists, it seemed too good to be true. Of course, it was. But Evesham’s Earth-honed skills at computer hacking and skimming money without anyone realizing that it had been skimmed stood him in good stead as he discovered that the colony’s books had been cooked as part of a gigantic con game.

This novel is set in a series of alternative versions of the present day and firmly based in current scientific thinking. The author is a leading figure in the science fiction world and has won numerous awards for "Man Plus", "Gateway" and "Jem".

Fred Pohl, multiple winner of science-fiction’s top awards, presents a breathtaking romp through the energy-poor world of the 2020s—a gripping chase-intrigue novel with a highly unlikely stand-in for James Bond.One day, the Reverend Hornswell Hake had nothing worse to contend with than the customary power shortages and his routine pastoral chores, such as counseling the vivacious Alys Brant—and her husbands and wife. At nearly forty, his life was placid, almost humdrum.The very next day, Horny Hake was first enlisted as an unwilling agent of the Team—secret successor to the long-discredited CIA—and then courted by an anti-Team underground group. In practically no time at all, Horny and Alys were touring Europe on a mission about which he knew zip, except that it was a new move in the Cool War, the worldwide campaign of sabotage that had replaced actual combat.For the team and its opponents, though, the Cool War could be as perilous as any hot one, as Horny Hake discovered when he came up against• Leota, lovely leader of the underground cabal, dedicated to destroying the Team;• Yosper, the Bible-thumping, foul-mouthed nonogenarian killer;• The Reddi twins, professional terrorists who turned up in the oddest places at the worst times and always managed to make Horny’s life miserable;• And Pegleg, master of such lethal toys as the Bulgarian Brolly and the Peruvian Pen.Picaresque and fast-moving, THE COOL WAR is also a deeply ironic, often hilarious, yet thought-provoking look at where we could be, some forty years from now.

Two of science fiction’s most renowned writers join forces for a storytelling sensation. The historic collaboration between Frederik Pohl and his fellow founding father of the genre, Arthur C. Clarke, is both a momentous literary event and a fittingly grand farewell from the late, great visionary author of 2001: A Space Odyssey.The Last Theorem is a story of one man’s mathematical obsession, and a celebration of the human spirit and the scientific method. It is also a gripping intellectual thriller in which humanity, facing extermination from all-but-omnipotent aliens, the Grand Galactics, must overcome differences of politics and religion and come together… or perish.In 1637, the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat scrawled a note in the margin of a book about an enigmatic theorem: “I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of this proposition which this margin is too narrow to contain.” He also neglected to record his proof elsewhere. Thus began a search for the Holy Grail of mathematics—a search that didn’t end until 1994, when Andrew Wiles published a 150-page proof. But the proof was burdensome, overlong, and utilized mathematical techniques undreamed of in Fermat’s time, and so it left many critics unsatisfied—including young Ranjit Subramanian, a Sri Lankan with a special gift for mathematics and a passion for the famous “Last Theorem.”When Ranjit writes a three-page proof of the theorem that relies exclusively on knowledge available to Fermat, his achievement is hailed as a work of genius, bringing him fame and fortune. But it also brings him to the attention of the National Security Agency and a shadowy United Nations outfit called Pax per Fidem, or Peace Through Transparency, whose secretive workings belie its name. Suddenly Ranjit—together with his wife, Myra de Soyza, an expert in artificial intelligence, and their burgeoning family—finds himself swept up in world-shaking events, his genius for abstract mathematical thought put to uses that are both concrete and potentially deadly.Meanwhile, unbeknownst to anyone on Earth, an alien fleet is approaching the planet at a significant percentage of the speed of light. Their mission: to exterminate the dangerous species of primates known as homo sapiens.

Every short story in this wonderfully varied collection has one thing in common: each features some alteration in history, some divergence from historical reality, which results in a world very different from the one we know today. As well as original stories specially commissioned from bestselling writers such as James Morrow, Stephen Baxter and Ken MacLeod, there are genre classics such as Kim Stanley Robinson’s story of how World War II atomic bomber the Enola Gay, having crashed on a training flight, is replaced by the Lucky Strike with profoundly different consequences.

Stories of the fall of civilisation, the destruction of the Earth and the end of the Universe itselfThe last sixty years have been full of stories of one or other possible Armageddon, whether by nuclear war, plague, cosmic catastrophe or, more recently, global warming, terrorism, genetic engineering, AIDS and other pandemics. These stories, both pre- and post-apocalyptic, describe the fall of civilization, the destruction of the entire Earth, or the end of the Universe itself. Many of the stories reflect on humankind’s infinite capacity for self-destruction, but the stories are by no means all downbeat or depressing — one key theme explores what the aftermath of a cataclysm might be and how humans strive to survive.

Won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1973.

Questo nuovo romanzo di Frederik Pohl ci presenta il primo tentativo di colonizzazione del pianeta Marte: non il Marte sognato dalla fantascienza di cinquant’anni fa, ma il Marte che oggi conosciamo attraverso i risultati trasmessi dalle sonde spaziali.Il protagonista della colonizzazione è Uomo Più: l’uomo più gli ausili che gli possono offrire i computer, e il protagonista del romanzo è il primo di questi uomini. Macchine sofisticate collegate al suo corpo hanno sostituito i suoi organi con altri organi artificiali, ed egli è ora adatto a vivere nell’atmosfera rarefatta di Marte, a trarre dal sole l’energia che gli occorre. Ma i suoi ex simili, le persone umane normali, non lo riconoscono più come uno di loro, e Marte, considerato come un’avventura e un episodio, si rivela il suo esilio e la sua casa.Nominato per i premi Hugo, Campbell e Locus in 1977.